Inside a quintessentially Sydney wedding
Wedding photographer: Milton Gan
Finding the one through those you trust is a love tale as old as time, a story that Julia Zhang and Andrew Duong are well-versed in.
First meeting through friends while they were both at university, the pair hit it off after attending a farewell dinner in late 2009. “It felt different and we just knew that this was something special,” said Julia, noting that the couple started dating shortly after. And the rest, as they say, was history.
Just over five years after they’d first met, Andrew proposed to Julia, selecting a sentimental location to pop the question, and the most romantic date on the calendar to do it on. Taking his then-girlfriend to Pyrmont’s Giba Park on Valentine’s Day in 2015, the bad weather on the day made the moment all that more romantic. “It was drizzling that night but Andrew was determined to make it happen,” said Julia. “We had the whole park to ourselves, which was lovely.”
From then, wedding plans were in full swing, with almost two-and-a-half years of preparation culminating in a big day the couple are sure to remember for the rest of their days.
Gathering their bridal party, wedding planner and master of ceremonies for one final pre-wedding celebration, the couple along with their nearest dinner held a rehearsal dinner at the chef’s table of Potts Point institution, The Apollo, so they could all become properly acquainted. “It was a cosy space and a great chance for everyone to get to know each other over some food and drinks,” the bride noted.
Hours before the wedding ceremony, the couple, along with both their families, gathered for a traditional tea ceremony at Bradleys Head. “It was a nice moment to honour our parents in a traditional way and was surprisingly emotional. Tears were shed by both families,” said Julia.
Selecting Sydney’s picturesque Bradleys Head as the backdrop to their civil ceremony, the couple exchanged their vows in spring on September 23, 2017.
Engaging Rosebery-based floral design company, My Violet, for their wedding blooms, the couple kept their floral colour palette to a clean white. My Violet created bursts of bouquets to line each pew, as well as creating a crescent of florals to surround the couple as they exchanged their vows.
The florals that surrounded Julia, Andrew and their celebrant during their first moments as husband and wife.
The multi-dimensional wedding florals.
When it came to their bridal party, only those extremely close to the couple made the cut: “We picked all our nearest and dearest for our bridal party. I had my sister as my maid of honour and my high school friends as bridesmaids. Andrew also had his close high school friends as groomsmen.”
Looking to Melbourne wedding dress designer, Mariana Hardwick, for her bridal outfit, Julia selected the ‘Callie’ gown for the ceremony, a strapless gown with delicate lace inserts. “It was a classic dress with subtle lace detail. It had a beautiful train too, which I loved,” she told Vogue.
To complement the drama of her gown’s train, the bride had a custom cathedral veil made by a family friend. When it came to accessories, Julia kept them to a minimum, wearing a pair of Paspaley pearl earrings gifted by her parents-in-law, and nothing else.
Andrew too kept a pared-back look for the big day, selecting a navy blue suit with matching bow tie.
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From their iconic Sydney ceremony location, the newlyweds along with their guests made their way to the reception. Moving to London shortly after their engagement made reception venue hunting a little challenging, with Julia’s sister recruited to visit locations on their behalf, ultimately landing on Carriageworks to host their post-ceremony celebrations.
The couple engaged White Rabbit Projects to plan their wedding, and it was White Rabbit Projects who suggested The Elston Room and Mezzanine within the complex. Julia shared that she’d always wanted to do something different for her wedding reception and has long had a love for industrial spaces.
First gathering within The Elston Room on the ground floor of the space, an area which boasts heritage features, sky-high ceilings and polished concrete floors, guests enjoyed drinks and nibbles before formal proceedings began.
The décor of the space surrounding guests as they first entered the space was kept simple; a few touches of greenery, clusters of lit candles and a few strategically placed spotlights were dotted around the space.
Moving upstairs to the Elston Mezzanine, the blank space of the room provided the perfect canvas for Julia and Andrew to create a wedding feel that was truly theirs. “It was a stroke of genius and it made so much sense on the night,” said Julia on the planner’s choice to split the reception across two areas.
Working once again with My Violet, the couple’s reception blooms exuded opulence and grandeur.
Working within a red colour palette, bigger and better was the name of the game when putting together the reception florals; bursts of huge red roses, a variety of orchids and oxblood red laceleaf lilies topping each table in the room.
An orchid-centric floral feature.
A huge wreath which featured the same palette also provided a beautiful backdrop to the bridal table.
In addition to the multi-dimensional bouquets that topped each guest’s tables, a single orchid, along with plate-sized place cards with each guest’s name beautifully written on them, greeted attendees as their took their seats.
As for the remainder of the table settings, the couple adopted a simple approach, keeping them to no more than a textured grey tablecloth, crisp white linen napkins and candles suspended in water within clear glass vases.
In keeping with the industrial theme, the three long guest tables brought a symmetrical look to the room, the clear lucite seats at each of the tables maintaining the clean look.
The transformed Elston Mezzanine filled with Julia and Andrew’s family and friends.
Once the sun went down, the lights came on. Filling the blank walls with lights in a pink and blue hue, mirroring a similar colour scheme to the décor.
When it came to creating her wedding reception look, Julia took to the web to source all of her inspiration. Along with her planner, the bride also looked to Instagram for wedding décor inspiration.
When it came to special moments of the day, the speeches given by their family and friends proved to be the instances of the evening that would stay with Julia and Andrew for years to come. “The speeches at our reception were very memorable. They were both funny and heartfelt. The best part of our night was hearing stories about each other from family and friends.”
One speech in particular that moved Julia was that given by her father: “My father gave such a heartfelt speech on the night, it brought everyone to tears,” she recalled. “Usually a man of few words, it was very touching to see him speak so freely on the night.”
And her husband Andrew’s speech proved just as memorable, with the groom giving much of his speech in Mandarin. “He practiced beforehand with the help of his parents,” Julia told Vogue. “It was a lovely surprise and I was blown away. For someone who doesn’t speak Mandarin, he was actually really good. I was very touched he made such an effort.”
Having lived through their own spectacular wedding day, Julia and Andrew had this wedding-specific advice for future brides and grooms: “Try and stop to enjoy all the little moments on the day,” the couple said. “After months of planning, it all goes so quickly on the day.”